Question mark folder in A1708

[mei123]

Hello! some days ago found one of my old MBP from 2017 (no touchbar), and wanted to refresh/use it again, maybe even fix the screen (it has the famous flexgate issue)

Computer works fine, has good battery cycles.. etc, because of the flexgate I was able to use it with an external screen, nothing crazy

I wanted to fresh install MacOS and went to format the disk, thing I previously did in the past, rushed the process and somehow I messed up

I think I've probably deleted boot partition or even recovery partition, which obviously leads to -> Folder with question mark icon

This usually has a few ways to fix it, but none of them are working for me atm

List of things I tried (Not working = keys aren't working/nothing happens)

• Command + R : This is the only one that worked, at least the first couple of times, but once It finished the re-installation it gave me an error and never worked again.
• Command + Opt/Alt + R : Not working
• Opt/Alt : Not working (Tried to boot using bootable USB with Sierra and other versions)
• Shift + Ctrl + Opt/Alt + Command + Power button : Works sometimes, computer restarts
• Resetting SMC / NVRAM : Nothing changes
• Use external wired keyboard , in case keyboard is not working, but same results

Disk is probably not dead, but obviously corrupted/bricked, is there anything else I can do? Thanks!

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Boot from an external drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

Try Internet Recovery:
Command-OPTION-R

This is NOT THE SAME as "regular" recovery (Command-R)

You'll need your wifi password.
The internet utilities take a while to load, so be patient as the globe spins.

Does this work?

If it does, once the utilities load, open disk utility
IMPORTANT: go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices". DO NOT skip this!

Look at "the list on the left". The TOPMOST item is the physical drive inside.
ERASE IT to "APFS, GUID partition format".

Quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
Click through.
The Mac will reboot one or more times, and the screen may go black for a minute or more with no indication of activity. Be patient.

When done, you should see the initial setup screen (choose your language).

 

[mei123]

Try Internet Recovery:
Command-OPTION-R

This is NOT THE SAME as "regular" recovery (Command-R)

You'll need your wifi password.
The internet utilities take a while to load, so be patient as the globe spins.

Does this work?

If it does, once the utilities load, open disk utility
IMPORTANT: go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices". DO NOT skip this!

Look at "the list on the left". The TOPMOST item is the physical drive inside.
ERASE IT to "APFS, GUID partition format".

Quit disk utility and open the OS installer.
Click through.
The Mac will reboot one or more times, and the screen may go black for a minute or more with no indication of activity. Be patient.

When done, you should see the initial setup screen (choose your language).

This does not work, the keys do nothing, I press them and keep pressing, the screen stays black and then the folder with question mark appears again

 

[mei123]

Boot from an external drive.

Hello, I've tried this, I have an installation in another drive that works fine, this computer doesn't boot up with the external drive.
I can't select the drive either because Option key does nothing

 

[Fishrrman]

At this point, it's time to take it to an Apple Store genius bar.
Let them have a look at it.

May not be worth the cost of repair...

 

[mei123]

At this point, it's time to take it to an Apple Store genius bar.
Let them have a look at it.

May not be worth the cost of repair...

Yeah it's 100% not worth it, thank you though !

 

[Bigwaff]

Have you tried an external keyboard?

 

[mei123]

Have you tried an external keyboard?

Yes, but it makes no difference